Allegations won't distract me: Salman Khurshid

Khurshid said he had been chosen to represent India's interests globally, and would not allow criticism from some quarters to distract him from his new job.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday said he had been chosen to represent India's interests globally, and would not allow criticism from some quarters to distract him from his new job.

In his first interaction with the media after assuming charge as external affairs minister, Khurshid made it clear that he would not get bogged down by allegations of corruption levelled by India Against Corruption (IAC) against an NGO run by his wife, Louise Fernandes.

"I am not sure that anyone is moving residence to my constituency (Farrukhabad) and if they are, they will be shifting their focus to one constituency. As a foreign minister, I represent the nation abroad, not a party," he told reporters who asked about the campaign against him by IAC chief Arvind Kejriwal in his constituency Thursday.

"We have responsibility to speak for India with or without banners. I don't speak for any segment or community," he said.

He stressed that as far as handling dissent was concerned, there were many people and party officials who were mandated to deal with subjects under their purview. The foreign minister's role was to represent India globally, rather than get distracted by domestic dissent, the minister said.

When asked about former Army chief Gen VK Singh's demand that parliament be dissolved, he said that being a retired person, Gen Singh was free to say what he wished.

"However, one should take any posture which is against the basic ethos of the Constitution," Khurshid said.